Read Online Heroes (Hollywood Heartthrobs #1) by Kate Rivers - Free Book Online Page A

Nate.”
              “It’s
nothing,” Nate replied offhand.
              Dean prepared
himself for his second attempt at an apology he knew would be woefully
inadequate. “Nate, I…”
              Nate cut him
off with a wave. “Before you say anything Dean, I want you to sit down.” Dean
sat down on a kitchen chair like a man going quietly to the gallows. Nate took
a breath. “Did I ever tell you the story about Samantha’s twenty-sixth
birthday?”
              Dean was
dumbfounded. He’d imagined a lot of things his brother might say to him, but
this was not one of them. “What?”
              Nate poured
himself another cup of coffee. “You want some?” he asked Dean. Dean shook his
head. Nate went on, “It was just a few weeks after Alec was born. You know
neither of the boys were what you’d call planned.” Dean nodded. Nathan and
Samantha had married three months after graduating college together, and it
seemed Tucker had been conceived practically on their honeymoon. “Sam and I had
plenty on our hands with Tucker, and when she got pregnant with Alec, I admit I
panicked a little. But Sam was born to be a mom, and she took everything in
stride. I don’t know who’s luckier, Tucker and Alec to have her for a mom, or
me to have her for a wife.” Dean had no idea where Nate was going with all
this, but he wasn’t about to interrupt.
    “So,
her birthday was just a few weeks after Alec was born, and I got together with
one of her friends to plan something special. Yvonne was going to take her out
to a spa, with me home watching the boys. What Yvonne and I didn’t tell her was
that I planned out a great meal with all her favorite foods to surprise her
when she got home. She always does the bulk of the cooking, so this was going
to be a special gesture.” Dean could vaguely remember hearing Samantha telling
this story at family events, but he still didn’t know where Nate was going.
    “Of
course, she goes out with Yvonne, I start cooking, and I realize I’ve forgotten
a couple of ingredients. Being a moron, I thought it would be no big deal to
pack the boys in the car, rush out to the store, and be back in a tick to
finish the dinner. You’ve probably heard Sam tell the end of this story, where
she comes in and Tucker’s crying, little Alec’s screaming, and I’m covered in
what was supposed to be béchamel sauce?”
    “Um,
yeah?”
    “Well,
the part of the story even she doesn’t know is how we all got like that. I pack
the boys into the car, get to the store. First Tucker pitches a fit because he
wants me to get the cart with the little car on it so he can ride, but I say no
because I can’t get Alec’s carrier on one of those. I drag him along to pick up
the three things I’ve forgotten, and suddenly Tucker’s shouting that he needs
to potty. We were potty training him at the time, so Samantha had it all worked
out that he could use diapers when we went out in case of emergencies, but at
home he was expected to wear big-boy undies. Again, me being a moron, I had
forgotten to diaper him before we left, and I realize this as he’s about to pee
all over the grocery store floor. I’m racing him to the bathroom, dragging the
cart. When we get to the store bathroom of course the cart can’t fit in the
door so I’ve got Tucker in one hand, Alec in his carrier in the other, and I
leave the cart outside the door. I remember being so elated that Tucker had
managed to do his business like a big boy and not pee all over the floor. I
help him wash his hands, we go back to the cart, up to the checkout, I load the
car, and we’re off. It’s not until I’m taking him out of the car and into the
house that he asks, ‘Daddy, where Alec go?’” Nate took a swig of his coffee to
let the question sink in to Dean.
    “You’d
left?” he asked, the horrible realization finally dawning.
    “Yep.
I had left Alec, in his baby carrier, on the changing table in